The geologically recent tectonic history of this region is complex. Colley
and Warden suggested that the Miocene volcanic rocks were related to
south-westward directed subduction. Present-day volcanism is related to the
north-eastward directed subduction
of the Australian Plate beneath the edge of the Pacific Plate. The two
plates converge at a rate of about 9 cm/year. A divergent plate boundary
(called a spreading center or spreading axis) is east of Vanuatu. Modified
from Monzier and others (1997).
Volcanoes of Vanuatu
Sources of information on the volcanoes of
Vanuatu (New Hebrides Islands).
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